Writing through tough times

Auspicious happenings this week at Langley Chase Central.

First, a confession: I have a "real" job that supports my writing habit! (As soon as I hit the NYT Best Seller List, maybe I can retire, but not yet) As a consequence, I am subject to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in the business community which, this past week, included being part of a rather massive lay-off at the company that, until Monday, employed me.

Surprisingly, I'm not overly upset about this. Yes, I know the economy is struggling and yes, I know it's difficult finding a job, but here in the Washington D.C. area, it's slightly easier. If I had a clearance, like my character Connie does, I could walk into just about any of the large government contractors and they'd snap me up. Unfortunately, I don't.

I do have a finely developed set of skills, however, and I should be re-employed before the end of the year. That's the plan.

But, what to do in the mean time?

Write, of course! It's a gift, having time, uninterrupted (except for interviews!) time to write. A couple of months ago, I tried the writer's equivalent of a 10K race - 10K words in a weekend. If I were in a particularly creative mood, I could make that 10K words in a day. Ten thousand words is a lot. While there is no typical output for authors, mine averages a couple of hundred words at a session. To keep writing for 10,000 words - that's HUGE!

And, that's what I'll be doing in between interviews. That and cleaning my house thoroughly. Write a little, clean a little, write a little, clean a little. It's got a nice rhythm. And the new mystery will be done in no time.

(A quick reminder. The contest to win a $10 Gift certificate to Amazon is over on Dec. 10 - keep those registrations coming! You can enter at www.langleychase.com simply by signing up for the newsletter. Come on, you know you want to. Just do it.)